Hey folks....l am looking forward to seeing everyone at Quartzsite
I am going to get some leaking tires addressed at Les Schwab before I go and have been thinking about one of those inflator setups that ties the inner and outer duals together. I had an inner dual go flat and was lucky to find it before a disaster.
Any opinions?
I see some have a regulator that balances but also cuts off a tire that is too deflated so that both don't deflate. I think I don't want that. I'd rather have them both deflate and address the problem rather than start an inner dual fire. Am I thinking about that right?
If I get a quick deflation under way, I assume my bogie will provide enough support to let me slow down and limp off the road.
I finally decided to get some zip dee awnings...Gary at B&B got them for me at a decent price and I am going to go by on the way to Quartzite and get them put on.
I also put solar panels on the roof deck railing and built some cheap 20 foot bench seats with storage using walmart futons
Hi Basil, might want to look into one of the tire monitor system available, saw your awnings at BB, nice!. All the best, see ya at the Q ;)
Van
I do have one of those, but the batteries have run out.
I will get them replaced, but I am super nervous about a deflated inner dual and am thinking I'd like this extra insurance of tying the tires together.
When is Quartzsite?
One is called the Cat's Eye. It has what looks like a Cat Eye. When it is closed-all correct. When it opens, you can visibly see that the tire inflation is down. Better though is the Pressure Pro-which is a wireless tire pressure system that has a sensor that screws into the tire stem and transmits the tire pressure continuously to a monitor that you have by the driver's seat (can be mounted anywhere-but the driver's seat is most logical). As you're driving you can check the tires pressure-and it will worn you if the tire pressure goes down to far as well as if it gets to high (indicative of a hot running tire). Much more effective then the Cat's Eye. Good Luck, TomC
Quartzsite this year is the 21th - 29th. of January.>>>Dan ( I think the GMs are the 19th - 21st.
My personal opinion is that tying the two tires together is the easiest way to get to buy two new tires. When one develops a leak, both will deflate and you could very easily ruin both
tires, and potentially start them both on fire. There are more than a few reasons why there are dual tires on your bus, and one of them is redundancy. You should check your tires
periodically. Use a proper tire gauge, and bump test them at every stop when you do your walk-around checks.
That being said, I saw a semi trailer today that was running super-singles. It had what appeared to be an inflation system connecting each wheel's valve stem to a fitting coming from the center
of the hub. I'm assuming there is an air system coming through the axle which regulates the pressure in the tires, similar to the system in the Hummer vehicle. This was new to me, but it looked
very interesting... and possibly expensive.
spend your cash on a tire pressure monitoring system or fresh batteries for the one you have, and call it a day.
The inner dual will be well watched by the equipment, freeing you to enjoy other aspects of bus operating terror.
happy coaching!
buswarrior
My experience with using the stem extenders for the inner duals, or tying the two together, is that they tend to leak creating another problem to keep an eye on. I have stem extenders, but they ride in the tool box and are only used temporarily for those hard to reach inner stems. You know the ones I'm talking about...the ones that the tire shop put the short stems on the inside and the long stems on the outside so you can't really get a good grip on either one. Who does that anyway?
Thanks Guys. I suspected tying them together might create as many problems as it solves. I'll get new batteries for the pressure pro.
I agree it seems dumb to put stems that are too long on the outers and too short on the inners, and I have had the same leaking problem with the extenders. That is what caused my inner dual deflation, so they are now off and in the tool box also.
I was going to ask the tire shop if they can put longer single stems on the inners and shorter stems, possibly just a little stub turned sideways rather than in, on the outers. Seems much more convenient. Is there any reason not to do that?
I have one of those bite down valve attachments so when I am filling tires from the bus compressor I can just stand there and watch rather than bend over. With a sideways turned stem on the outers I could use it on those also.
BTW when I was addressing leaks last year, I found they were not coming from the tire but from the little gasket around the valve stem that seems to age and leak. I am running on Alcoa rims on a 93 Eagle, so I suspect those little gaskets had not been changed in 18 years.
The equalizers have been a round for a long time they do serve a purpose to keep the tire pressure equal on both tires and they do work for the purpose they were built
good luck
IF. If they used a overflow check valve, similar to the propane tanks that stop flowing if the flow rate exceeds a predetermined value, connecting the duals together wouldn't be any problem at all. Having them at constant equal pressure and being able to check and fill both tires simultaneously would make that job that much simpler.
However, having the good tire go flat because the other one did wouldn't help so much.
The problems I see with equalizers is first, the creation of possible new leak points, and second, one tire will be able to leak both down without giving you much of a hint about which one has the problem. I am happy with a pressure monitor even though I note that the duals are not always exactly the same pressure.
Les Schwab folks came back negative on the equalizers also. More leak potential, don't want both tires deflating at once.
They took a look at switching me to the new super wide tires, but could not find any 24.5s. The 22.5s look very cool on the Alcoas.
For monitoring they suggested wireless monitors, for easier fill suggested the fill connection with the straight foot forward and angled foot in reverse, and ordered one for me. I never see those at harbor freight or lowes.
Those guys have always been helpful, I am impressed with them since moving to the west coast.
It turned out my leaks were from loose valves in the valve stems, which I feel like an idiot for not thinking to check. They gave me the tool to tighten them again if I have the same problem.
The high speed super singles are made to replace the 275/80R-22.5 and 295/75R-22.5 in the 445/50R-22.5 size and for the 11R-22.5 is the 455/55R-22.5. The super singles are approved for single axle use (including steers). They do save fuel. Even with the new fuel efficient duals out, if the duals are at 100 for road friction, the singles would be around 85 (meaning less road friction because of half the tires flexing). But-the cost and amount of driving you have to do to make up the difference just isn't worth it for low mileage drivers like us (meaning less then 100,000 miles a year). On big rig trucks and buses in commercial service-they are very much so worth it. The trick is to carry a mounted spare. Good Luck, TomC
I am with buswarrior, I have the Pressure Pro setup, the good is it does give you good info and will give an alarm if pressure drops about 15psi. Tha bad part, they can be a pain in the a$$ to get them to not leak, but like most things there is a learning curve, as long as you get the center part in the center then screw them on, they work fine, but if you just screw em on with out getting the center in the center, you will not like them. That being said, follow the instructions, they work, have them on the toad too a 94 Ford F150, they work great, but had to install heavy stems in the rim to propr support them. After about 12K miles no issues.